Apple Suppliers Cutting Sales Forecasts Amid 'Extraordinary' Decline in Chinese Demand

Major Apple suppliers in Asia have been cutting their 2019 sales forecasts and some have cited an "extraordinary" drop in Chinese demand, reports Nikkei.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which supplies the A-series chips used in the iPhones and other devices, is forecasting a 22 percent drop in revenue for the January to March quarter. TSMC said there was a "sudden drop in demand" for high-end smartphones, also attributing its revenue decline to the U.S.-China trade war and economic uncertainty.

iphone xs vs xr
The same thing goes for Nidec, a company that supplies the vibration motor in the iPhone. Nidec has dropped its full-year profit outlook by upwards of 25 percent after slumps were seen in November and December.

"We have faced extraordinary changes," Nidec Chairman Shigenobu Nagamori told reporters at a Thursday news conference as the company reversed a previous forecast of a record profit. [...]

The tide shifted in November, however. "We saw big slumps in November and December," Nagamori said. "Orders, sales and shipments in all business segments around the world saw major shifts," he explained.

Apple has forecast its own decline in revenue, dropping guidance for the holiday quarter to $84 million, down from an earlier November estimate of $89 to $93 million.

Apple has asked its suppliers to cut ‌iPhone‌ XR, XS, and XS Max production by 10 percent for the next three months and has implemented its own reduction in hiring for certain divisions amid the slump.

The company is attempting to boost ‌iPhone‌ sales by dropping prices in China and offering increased trade-in values in the U.S. and other countries.

Tag: TSMC

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26 Maps Glass

Apple Reportedly Moving Ahead With Ads in Maps App

Sunday October 26, 2025 6:22 am PDT by
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
swift for android

Developers Can Now Make Android Apps With Apple's Swift

Sunday October 26, 2025 4:23 am PDT by
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android. The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Says U.S. Passport Feature on iPhone is Coming Soon

Monday October 27, 2025 7:41 am PDT by
You will "soon" be able to add a digital version of your U.S. passport to your iPhone, according to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Bailey reiterated that the feature is coming soon during her keynote at the Money20/20 USA conference in Las Vegas on Sunday. On its iOS 26 page, Apple says the delayed feature will be "coming later this year." Apple's...

Top Rated Comments

Mac Fly (film) Avatar
89 months ago
We could blame the trade war, and wiggy is an easy target, but these phone prices have gotten out of hand and competition is making better devices for most people. Maybe wall st and its companies need to stop being such greedy jerks?
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9081094 Avatar
89 months ago
To blame the economy is a cheap excuse for not looking at the real reason: Apple isn’t giving its customers value for money anymore. For the price of the iPhone X you can have two flagship phones from any other brand.

Apple needs to out innovate or half the prices to give customers a reason to buy or stay at Apples brand.

Loyalty has its limits so does greed.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cardfan Avatar
89 months ago
I wonder if there's real "Apple boycott" happening in China, as previously reported. When traditionally nationalist countries like them claim something like it, they really stand behind it. I hope it isn't one of those things.
Perhaps. But why hope at all? I hope sales plummet. It’s good for consumers. Apple has to work harder.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freida Avatar
89 months ago
Good news. Keep it coming. We really need Apple off the high horse. The went too far this time.
So yeah, reality check slap is always good wake up call for great companies. Now make it better Apple. Its about time!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DakotaGuy Avatar
89 months ago
They will probably just raise prices again to keep profit high with less sales.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrysisDeu Avatar
89 months ago
I wonder if there's real "Apple boycott" happening in China, as previously reported. When traditionally nationalist countries like them claim something like it, they really stand behind it. I hope it isn't one of those things.
NO, Chinese smartphones are just more competitive with a lower price point.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)